A
Ascherose
Junior member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2015
- Messages
- 8
Hi again; you might remember me from this thread a few months ago in which I discussed switching practices due to my former dentist's reluctance to treat me:
www.dentalfearcentral.org
Well, I had a cleaning today and X-rays/exam twelve days ago. April 2nd was my first time successfully getting a full set of radiographs, and I never thought I'd be able to have a full set done, but the staff was even able to use adult film! The technician was very fast and I managed to get about 4-6 done even though I still gagged and the film chattered in my teeth, holder and all.
My new dentist is a wizard. I got to listen to him give care instructions to another patient while I was waiting for treatment and that helped me see how thorough he was. I am so happy that I don't actually have perio. He said I was much too young for that and that the redness in my lower front gums was merely gingivitis that could go totally away with Chlorhexidine and good home care. He wrote me a prescription and I'll be getting some tomorrow, yay.
Regarding the cavity that sparked this entire mess, he said I had some poorly done fillings and decay around one filling but that those were fixable and amalgam would last longer--so I don't have to lose a tooth or have it canaled, either. I don't get the filling for another two months though. The entire staff was very understanding and said that I made a good decision switching providers.
Today I got my cleaning done by an RDH who was very kind and said that no one should harp on me for my teeth. My previous cleanings were only 20-30m with manual scalers, but they used an ultrasonic scaler for this one. There was so much tartar that even with the Cavitron, it still took an hour--but they were very thorough and she probably spent 15 minutes or so on my lower teeth alone.
Despite all the tartar the RDH said that my tissue was beginning to improve WHILE they were cleaning and the swelling was going down! I also did not have to constantly spit up blood because they had an assistant suctioning the whole time, which was nice.
I was told that the brush I am using is the best I could use and not to use Listerine any more due to the alcohol. They are going to try to get me to use floss picks, but I still think I'm going to have to buy an irrigator because I'm not quite comfortable with using the picks. Right now my gums are red and they bled after I brushed, but I'm going to brush 2-3 times a day and hope my condition improves. I'm also now allowed to have quarterly cleanings, which should help.
Hopefully this helps anyone in a similar situation. I'm happy I can worry less about my mouth now, because my teeth look and feel so much better.
Physically disabled and phobic--switching to a more modern dentist and worried about "diagnosis"
Physically disabled and phobic--switching to a more modern dentist and worried about "diagnosis" Hi: I've lurked on this forum for a long time now. As someone who did not even go to a dentist until I was 18 years old (I'm 21 3/4 now), this was one of the sites that helped calm me down a bit...
www.dentalfearcentral.org
Well, I had a cleaning today and X-rays/exam twelve days ago. April 2nd was my first time successfully getting a full set of radiographs, and I never thought I'd be able to have a full set done, but the staff was even able to use adult film! The technician was very fast and I managed to get about 4-6 done even though I still gagged and the film chattered in my teeth, holder and all.
My new dentist is a wizard. I got to listen to him give care instructions to another patient while I was waiting for treatment and that helped me see how thorough he was. I am so happy that I don't actually have perio. He said I was much too young for that and that the redness in my lower front gums was merely gingivitis that could go totally away with Chlorhexidine and good home care. He wrote me a prescription and I'll be getting some tomorrow, yay.
Regarding the cavity that sparked this entire mess, he said I had some poorly done fillings and decay around one filling but that those were fixable and amalgam would last longer--so I don't have to lose a tooth or have it canaled, either. I don't get the filling for another two months though. The entire staff was very understanding and said that I made a good decision switching providers.
Today I got my cleaning done by an RDH who was very kind and said that no one should harp on me for my teeth. My previous cleanings were only 20-30m with manual scalers, but they used an ultrasonic scaler for this one. There was so much tartar that even with the Cavitron, it still took an hour--but they were very thorough and she probably spent 15 minutes or so on my lower teeth alone.
Despite all the tartar the RDH said that my tissue was beginning to improve WHILE they were cleaning and the swelling was going down! I also did not have to constantly spit up blood because they had an assistant suctioning the whole time, which was nice.
I was told that the brush I am using is the best I could use and not to use Listerine any more due to the alcohol. They are going to try to get me to use floss picks, but I still think I'm going to have to buy an irrigator because I'm not quite comfortable with using the picks. Right now my gums are red and they bled after I brushed, but I'm going to brush 2-3 times a day and hope my condition improves. I'm also now allowed to have quarterly cleanings, which should help.
Hopefully this helps anyone in a similar situation. I'm happy I can worry less about my mouth now, because my teeth look and feel so much better.
